


He Carries The Bags

by chomperstanaccount



Category: Not Another D&D Podcast (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:33:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27722860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chomperstanaccount/pseuds/chomperstanaccount
Summary: The throne of Hell sits empty after Akarot is slain. Someone must take the throne. Someone must wear the crown.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	He Carries The Bags

Hell isn’t so bad, he reminds himself. At least Moonshine pops by sometimes. 

It’s the in-between times that are hard. 

How long has it been? A week or two? It feels too long since she’s visited. Every time, it feels too long since she’s visited. 

He understands why she has to go, every time. But that doesn’t mean it hurts less. It’s not as if he did not choose this burden. But that doesn’t mean it‘s lighter. 

Sometimes, when he has time to think, he remembers the day they decided he would take the crown. Well, when he decided he would take the crown. Because it was his decision, at the end of the day. And no matter the responsibility, no matter the endless pain as the crown burns his skin, no matter the thoughts that sometimes overtake his mind, he does not regret it. 

He can’t regret it. It’s his duty. 

It wasn’t even a choice, really. Moonshine, Bev, Hardwon... they had to save the world. Lucanus and Jolene, they had people to lead. Even Cobb, Red, Gunther... they had a place. They had people, they had responsibilities. Balnor didn’t. 

Balnor was expendable. 

He’s not the best option, by far. That much is clear by Moonshine’s visits. She plays it off like she’s just checking up on him, cooking him a meal and keeping him company, but he’s adventured with her long enough to know a Heroes’ Feast. He’s adventured with her long enough to know when his family is worried about him. He’s not the best option, but he’s the only option. He just has to make it worth it. He has to stay strong. 

It wasn’t even an argument, really. Or, rather, not one in his point of view. The three of them were discussing what to do over the campfire one night, Balnor off to the side organizing the bags, as he always did. Moonshine offered to take the throne, to wear the crown. The others turned her down. He remembers clearly, that moment. He remembers turning around immediately, he remembers walking up to them, and he remembers his words. 

“I’ll do it,” he said. “I’ll wear the crown. You need to save the world, gang. I can hold the bags.”

And so here he sits, on the obsidian throne at the bottom of Hell, a crown of fire burning his flesh. Forever. Forever, he stays, trapped in the cycle of lucidity. Oh, he has his moments of clarity. Those Heroes’ Feasts help. He’s not strong enough without them, he knows, but it still hurts. And it hurts a lot more the farther from Moonshine he gets. 

Like now. Moonshine hasn’t visited in nearly a month. She probably won’t come for a while, he thinks. Might have abandoned him, finally. That’s... fine. That’s fine, he realizes. That’s fine. 

It’s Balnor that wears the crown. It’s Balnor that sits upon the throne. It’s Balnor that holds the bags. 

Moonshine tried to convince him that it wasn’t his responsibility. She tried to take that responsibility herself. But she didn’t understand. She’s just a kid, as wise and as capable as she is. It’s his job to take care of her, not the other way around. 

He’s the knight. He’s her knight. And it’s his duty to protect her. It’s his duty to protect all of them. 

He carries their burdens. He carries the bags.


End file.
